Childcare in San Francisco: The Struggle is Real, and Here’s What You Need to Know

When I was thirteen weeks pregnant with my first child, I put my fetus’s “name” on the waitlists of four daycare centers near our home. I recently received a call from one of them telling me that they had a spot open — My daughter is almost four years old. I never heard back from the other three, and this sums up the struggle many families have in finding affordable and reliable childcare in San Francisco.

Two of my friends got lucky and kept tabs on a soon-to-open daycare in their neighborhood and were able to get their infants in immediately. Most of my other friends ended up doing nanny shares. Some preferred this choice straight out of the gate, but others saw it as their only viable option because the supply of daycare centers in San Francisco doesn’t match the demand of parents’ childcare needs. This makes the waitlists long (I was number 68) and the price tags high.

The good news is that I’m noticing more childcare facilities opening in the city, and family circumstances change regularly, making many waitlists fluid and fantastic nannies frequently available, if you know how to look for them.

The right choice for childcare is a personal one, and we want to help you get the information you need to make it.

You can find some great tips on how to think through the process here.

For a comprehensive list of daycare centers, home-based daycares, and preschools in San Francisco, check out Winnie. Wonderschool also keeps a list of all of its in-home daycares across the city.

Have valuable insights of your own? Share them with us in the comments below!

*Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article included a link to Nurturelist. That website is still accessible, but the daycare center and preschool data is no longer maintain. Winnie has incorporated all of the information into their site.

About Rebecca

Originally from New Jersey, Rebecca moved to San Francisco in 2008 with her husband to start their married life together. They met at Penn State where Rebecca earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Human Resources and Labor Relations. Rebecca worked for two Fortune 500 companies in a variety of HR roles before surprising everyone, including herself, and leaving her job to stay home with her kids. Now, she uses her HR skills in communications, personal development and, of course, conflict resolution to navigate the world of toddlers, stay-at-home moms, preschool, and the playground. Follow her on social media @rlang165 and on BeckyRebecca.com.

I have an in-home preschool for toddlers so I have a bit of insight into why infant care is so hard to find in the city. There are very few child care centers in the city because of the cost of renting or buying a property. Most of the centers in the city are owned by Bright Horizons, which is one of the only profitable network of child care centers. There are tons of in-home childcare programs in the city, but here is the problem- the potential spots for infants are simply too limited by the rules for family child care homes. There are two types of family child care homes – small and large. A small family child care home can have up to 6 children at a time but only 3 of those children can be under 24 months of age. A large family child care home can have up to 12 children at a time but only 4 of those children can be under 24 months. You can see how this severely limits the number of infant spots available!